SeaWorld looks beyond its parks for growth

June 4, 2011|By Jason Garcia, Orlando Sentinel

Atchison would notdeclined to identify the locations SeaWorld is considering for a hotel. But the company has five parks — SeaWorld Orlando, SeaWorld San Diego, Sea World San Antonio, Busch Gardens Tampa Bay and Busch Gardens Williamsburg in Virginia — that each draw at least 2million visitors a year, according to industry estimates. SeaWorld Orlando is the biggest park in the chain, with annual attendance about 5.5million.

"Our analysis suggests that, if you could generate 2 million or more attendance on an annual basis, there may be an economic argument for building a hotel, particularly if those 2 million people are derived from the tourist market," said John Robinett, a senior vice president with the market-research company AECOM in Los Angeles.

Farther afield, Atchison said SeaWorld is developing plans to expand internationally. SeaWorld, like other big theme-park chains, is particularly interested in China and neighboring countries. Though not certain, Atchison said it is "probable" that the company's first overseas park will be built in Southeast Asia.

"There's a few opportunities that we're putting a lot of effort into right now," he said.

Atchison said he thinks there is still room for SeaWorld to grow in North America, particularly with some of its niche brands. He singled out the limited-admission park Discovery Cove and the water park Aquatica, both in Orlando, and the children's park Sesame Place, in Pennsylvania, as likely targets for expansion.

"Do I think that in the U.S. marketplace there's a place for 10 more SeaWorlds? Probably not," Atchison said. "But there's probably other locations that could support other concepts that we have and, I think, do very well."